Guest feature: Ajani Pierce is the Labor Market Information Specialist for the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation. Follow along with DLLR on Facebook and Twitter.

Looking for a few additional reasons to feel merry this holiday season? Check out this economic recap from the Maryland Department of Labor.

1) Low unemployment rate

The unemployment rate declined to 4.1 percent in October. The unemployment rate is down from 4.4 percent two years ago (October 2016), and is down from 7.6 percent in October 2010.

2) Low unemployment claims

The number of people who qualify and are receiving benefits is similar to the lows of the late 1980s and 2000s. The four week average of continued claims has fallen to 24,190, down 21 percent from a year ago, and down almost 74 percent from the peak continued claims during the Great Recession of 2008.

3) Peak job growth

Since the employment lows of February 2010 during the recession, Maryland gained over 289,000 jobs. So far this year (January-October), Maryland is on pace to have its second-highest jobs gain since the Great Recession of 2008.

4) High personal income

Per capita income for the second quarter of 2018 is $62,535, up almost 28 percent from the first quarter of 2010. Currently, Maryland’s per capita personal income is 8th highest in the nation and 2nd highest in the Mid-Atlantic.

5) Strong economic growth

The Maryland economy has grown almost 2 percent from a year ago to over $366 billion (last 4 quarters ending in Q2 2018). Economic growth in Maryland is outpacing the United States, 7.5 percent versus 7.2 percent since the first quarter of 2015.